Moogfest has a new CEO, Gillian Ryan. Previously the COO at UG Strategies, she has worked in the music industry in various capacities for nearly 20 years. We spoke with her on the morning before the four-day festival to get the inside scoop for what’s coming up this weekend.
Durham Magazine Before you were the CEO at Moogfest, you were a principal at Level Strategy. Can you explain what you did there and how that led to your role at Moogfest?
Gillian Ryan So, actually Level Strategy is my consulting company [that advises] other music companies on growth strategies. I’ve worked at a bunch of music companies throughout the industry, on all different sides, and [I] worked in mergers and acquisitions and scaling businesses and things like that when I was at Warner Music Group. My actual job before getting involved in Moogfest was the general manager of TMWRK management and events. We managed Diplo, Major Lazer, Flosstradamus, Dillon Francis and a roster of about 30 other huge EDM [electronic dance music] acts. And along with that, many of our artists had their own branded festivals – we produced Fool’s Gold Day Off with 8tracks. We had Mad Decent Block Party, which was Diplo’s touring festival; Greatest Day Ever, which was a hip-hop festival up in the Bronx; and things like that. And I always found myself leaning a little more toward the live side. I’ve been a manager for many years and kind of checked that box. But once I started doing live [shows and festivals], I got really excited about the opportunity, especially in niche festivals and things that you can really identify a fan base and create something special for them instead of just a generic, large pop festival where it’s using the same template over and over. And Moogfest obviously had a great reputation and a great brand and an incredible audience. And when I had the opportunity to get involved, I couldn’t help but just throw everything I have at it and go for it.
DM What has it been like so far?
GR It’s a lot. So there’s been a transition this year. The former promoter no longer works with Moogfest, and I took it over just a few months ago. So this year was quite the fast-and-furious planning, as many people in Durham know. And I thank everyone for helping and extending a hand out to me knowing that this was definitely a year of heroic feats, but it’s going to be an even better festival than ever. It’s been a race, but we’re here now. We’re super excited.
DM What have you been working on specifically?
GR So, I oversee everything. Moogfest is a small festival at this point. It’s in the thousands. If we don’t include the free programming, it’s still pretty small. As CEO at a festival this size, [my job] is the CEO, the festival director, the CFO, the COO, all of the roles of a smaller organization. But I would say this year, it was reorganizing a little bit for the first couple months as I was working out contracts and then hitting the ground running as soon as I had the good-to-go, basically in February. So, it’s all hands on deck for me.
DM Are you nervous, excited? How are you feeling? The festival is tomorrow.
GR Super excited. I think I’m really excited because this year we focused a lot on the free programming to the public, which is a lot to undertake. And we have some really special things that are going to be announced today: Questlove will be a part of our daytime programming – that will be hitting our social media and everything today. That’s a really exciting addition. We have events happening at Quarter Horse, the American Tobacco Campus lawn, in The Cage – Saturday is certainly going to be a super busy day. So I’m pretty excited that we were able to do a lot more this year when it comes to that, especially with the timeline and for the full fan experience that buys the ticket holders, we’ve definitely kept to the brand and we have an incredible roster of artists performing throughout downtown Durham. So excited that we were able to provide the same experience and more this year.
DM What exactly is going to be different about this year’s festival versus years past?
GR I think Moogfest always has something that makes it different. Moogfest isn’t trying to just stay one thing, because that’s how our fan base adapts. Our fan base grows. So if we just isolate ourselves in time, we won’t be what our fans want, because part of what Moogfest is being innovative, curative and different. So we’re always looking for how to explore those small spaces where we can start turning some ideas, changing some things this year. I think something that’s really interesting is we are very focused on our keynotes and our daytime programming, and I think people will be really excited when they show up to hear Thomas Dolby and Jason Leopold talk about uncovering the truth and what information hacking looks like both from an actual news cycle when it comes to Jason Leopold, a very renowned investigative reporter, who is a kind of a little too famous right now because of everything that’s going on with the [Mueller] report. And then Thomas Dolby, who’s definitely a sound hacker who, over the last few decades, has really been an innovator in the space and also has an interest in information hacking it. And between the both, the mutual interest, I think you’re going to find interesting combined conversations. And I think that’s something that we will focus on as Moogfest for us is to make sure that our programming is super intertwined and collaborative amongst our artists and our fans.
DM Before you were the CEO, had you ever been to Moogfest before? As a fan or a concert goer?
GR I was hired with last year’s team, so I did get to experience the festival a year before. If only for a few months being involved in it. But before that, I had not, I had just heard about it from afar. Durham is not as far from New York as it feels. That’s one of the things we also want to communicate. A lot of our fans do come from all over the country and the world, and I think there’s even more opportunities there. So I had not, [but] when I talked about it with friends who live in faraway places, everyone’s like, ‘Yeah, that’s something worth traveling for.’ I think a large group of people have already figured that out. But I think we can extend that further.
DM What are you most looking forward to this weekend?
GR I mean, are you talking about performances? This is the question that kills me. I feel like I’m not being loyal to my children. But there’s a lot of things that I’m really excited about. I, like many other huge Depeche Mode fans, are very excited to see Martin Gore have a conversation with Daniel Miller, who is the founder of Mute Records. That’s going to be a highlight. And I think that, because they’ve known each other for so long and because they’ve never done something like this together, there’s going to be some special moments on that stage and some things that get shared. Jason Leopold and Thomas Dolby, I’m super excited to hear what those guys are coming up with. I know that they’ve been collaborating for weeks on it, and it just sounds like it’s going to be super exciting. As far as performances, man, there’s something at every venue at every time, I’m going to have to divide myself into five different people. But I would definitely say I love Kimbra. She puts on an incredible show. She’s an incredibly genuine, talented artist. I’m excited to see Max Cooper’s set. He’s going to do something really interesting and longform, which will be exciting. And I just have a whole list. It’s like I have my own kind of Coachella schedule, but unfortunately it’s all of the artists, and they all overlap. But those are a few things that I’m super excited about as of today. As of tomorrow, I’ll probably have a totally new list and just be trying to divide myself again.
DM Final question: Any tips about the festival that you can share with me?
GR Sure. All of our information will be on our site, there isn’t going to be a ton of secrets when it comes to performances or things that are happening, because we have so much happening. We want to make sure that people know what’s going on. So we’re being super communicative. One sneaky tip is that you can get a discounted local ticket here before the fest if you haven’t grabbed one yet. It’s a last-minute GA [general admission] discount, and that GA pass is just like every other GA pass. So you get access to all daytime and nighttime programming. And I think my biggest tip would be to come early. Come for the panels, and roll into the shows at night. We’re much more than a music festival. And I think when people experience that, they get the full feel of Moogfest.
And the other thing I would recommend [is check out our] maps of Durham and places to eat, things to do in the in between. I mean, we have programming happening from 11 a.m. to past 2 a.m. every morning. You could fill your schedule every single minute, every single hour. But there’s just so many incredible places to check out, and I just want our fans to make sure that they take a minute, take a breath. There’s always an hour here and there to go grab some food. And in Durham, I just have to say that I’m becoming a resident here soon enough, but it’s definitely affecting my waistline because the food in Durham is just way too good. So I would definitely say to the out-of-town fans: Make sure that you experience Durham during this trip, too. It’s just as much a part of Moogfest as our programming.
DM I don’t disagree with you there. Is there anything else folks should know about Moogfest?
GR I just think it’s about highlighting that we’re so much more than just music or talks or engineering, creating Moog synthesizers. We have the daytime programming, the nighttime programming, [the] modular marketplace. Other than [the Power Plant building], the American Tobacco Campus is open to the public. Bay 7, the lawn and The Cage. Make sure you go to Bay 7. That’s our modular marketplace. It’s fun for everyone of all ages. Kids love to hit the buttons. Adults love to hit the buttons. I would definitely say that’s a highlight. And if you walk past the Power Plant, peek in the windows – you’re going to see the [top] engineers building their custom Moog synthesizers. And it’s one of the most interesting things. That’s something that no other festival can offer. So I would say, make sure that you get a glimmer of all the aspects of this future creative and technical conference/festival.
